Bad Days
by phantom12
Summary: Original MMPR Childhood story. Because she loved her friends so dearly, she would do anything for them. Even if it meant dying.
1. Determination

Disclaimer: Not mine.

* * *

Bad Days.

Her dark eyes stared softly through the window pane from the sofa, through the light pattering of the rainfall, and into something beyond. Towards something only she could see, something only she could understand. Straight caramel locks fell gently along the side of her face, accentuating her tethered youth. As she watched the dancing drizzles, she thought of today, and days to come, and even more days to come after that. Today was a hard day. But there were many more ahead, she knew.

A slight whimper from one of the heads lying in her lap beckoned her attention. She broke from the trance of the rain to glance down at the dirty blond mop on her lap. Gently, she placed her hand in his gave it a small squeeze. Grey mournful eyes from the boy thanked her for her presence. She offered him a gentle smile. He closed his eyes once again as she watched him protectively.

She turned her attention to the other head in her lap. Black silky hair spilled over the left side of her lap, its owner snoring softly. The sleeping girl's dress was barely visible under the blanket previously tucked gently around her.

Satisfied that both children in her lap were both okay for now, the caramel locked girl glanced up across the other side of the coffee table just a few feet away where another little boy was draped over the love seat fast asleep with one shoe untied. His dark skin was hidden underneath his suit jacket to keep out the light. She gave a small sigh in his direction.

The girl's eyes shifted to the left where yet another boy slouched back in a large recliner that towered over him. His suit was wrinkled from the day's mournful events. His hands were folded neatly in his lap, his thumbs twiddling softly. He looked up. Their dark eyes met. No words were spoken. There was no need to speak. A bond of understanding omitted the need for verbal communication. Because today was a bad day.

Her name was Kim. She was a smallest person in her grade. She loved butterflies and blue skies and her friends. She was ten. And she felt old. She felt there wasn't much to her life. There was gymnastics. A passion she couldn't share with many people. There was karate, which she joined to socialize with Jason. And there was school, which she didn't attend today. Because today it was raining. Today it was gloomy. Today, they had to dress up nice for an event that wasn't nice at all.

Because today was a bad day.

Earlier today she had been running. She was chasing the blond mophead in her lap. His name was Billy. He was running. From a white casket drowned in flowers and pictures. He was running from his mother. And she would not let him escape.

He'd fled from his father's grasp underneath the safety of the umbrella into the nearby woods. Away from the crowd. Away from the mourning. Away from his friends. Away from his mother. He didn't care where he ended up. He wanted to leave it all behind.

Kim had been a good ten feet from him the whole way. She wouldn't let him leave her sight. She silently cursed her black dress shoes as they hurt when she dug her feet into the ground to gain traction. She risked a quick glance over her shoulder. The three others followed another ten yards behind. When she turned forward, she saw that he'd gained more speed. She didn't struggle too hard to keep up with his pace.

Billy had run so deep into the woods. He didn't care. His legs hurt. He didn't care. His heart hurt. He didn't care. He was mad – no, wait, he was sad – wait – he didn't know what he felt. He just knew didn't like it. He hated it. He hated the world. He hated today.

He would've kept running if the creek before him hadn't been there. He slowed to a stop, panting hard. He grabbed at his chest, begging God for mercy, begging for things to change, to rearrange. He bent over and cried out. He let himself slide to the floor against a thick tree, resting his head atop his small knees.

Kim had stopped a solid ten feet away to watch him, giving him space. She panted softly as the others finally caught up. She glanced back at the tallest one, Jason. Their eyes met, and he nodded. She headed slowly towards Billy, leaving three of them behind.

The dark boy, Zack, was going to follow her until Jason held out a hand gently refraining him from joining her. He nodded silently and glanced back at Trini, her dark hair slightly misted from the rain. She blinked and nodded in understanding. The trio watched silently as Kim approached their fallen friend.

Billy was huddled against the tree with his head down hugging his knees. She'd stopped just a few feet away from him, shuffling the autumn leaves to let him know she was there. When he didn't move, she sat down next to him silently and mimicked his position, knees drawn up to her chest, turning her head to watch him.

He didn't move.

Moments passed before he lifted his head slightly towards her, revealing tear-stained cheeks beneath his glasses. She stared back understandingly and said nothing. He opened his mouth as if searching for words. Nothing came out. She waited patiently. He blinked and sighed. His mouth opened again and this time he spoke.

"Does the hurting ever stop?" he whispered so quietly, so painfully, she could barely hear it. His voice was strained as the tears started flowing from his eyes once again. Kim didn't break her protective gaze.

"I don't know," she replied honestly, gently. He was now openly bawling. She clutched an arm around his neck and pulled him into a hug. He buried himself in her arms and sobbed openly. "I don't know," she repeated as she felt the tears well up in her eyes. "I think it's always going to hurt. But I also think it'll get easier."

"I love my mom," he sobbed in her arms.

"I know you do." The rain was falling less. "She loves you and your daddy more than anything in the world," Kim stated boldly.

"You mean 'loved', Kimmy," Billy replied mournfully through his sobs. "She _loved_ me and my daddy."

"No," the young girl said firmly. "She _loves_ you and your daddy." She felt him hold her tighter and she returned the fierceness of the hug. "Love like what your mommy has can't die."

"How do you know?" he asked.

"I know these things, Billy." He loosened his grip and looked up into her eyes, as though searching for truth. She stared back, her dark eyes expressing the wisdom of a thousand centuries. "She _loves_ you," Kim stated again, more boldly. And he believed her.

"I miss my mom!" he cried out. "I don't have a mom…"

She was crying as well now. Between soft sobs, she'd said so softly he couldn't hear, "Me neither."

A gentle arm wrapped around her. She looked up to see Trini's fallen face, tears already freely flowing. Kim pulled Trini into the embrace, and Billy welcomed her. Kim looked up from the pile to Jason, who was fighting the urge to break down. Zack was behind him, his head in one of his hands. All Kim could do to help was to hold the two of them in her arms as they cried.

It was a good few minutes before Jason spoke up. He bent down towards Billy, touching his shoulder softly. "We need to head back," he stated gently. Billy turned towards his friend and sniffled. "When you're ready."

"Okay," Billy sniffled and sighed. Jason helped Billy and Trini up and put an arm around Billy protectively. Zack took his other side, repeating the gesture of friendship. Kim took Trini's hand and squeezed it.

That's how they exited the woods. Together.

Billy's father had been waiting at the edge of the woods, knowing they'd return with his son. William knew their bond was special. He'd promised his wife, long before she passed, that he'd embrace their friendship. She was right, he thought agonizingly and proudly. She always was. He held his arms out at the sight of his son. Zack and Jason had released their hold on Billy to let him run to his father, as he accepted the embrace with gratitude and tears.

And now, hours later, they lay scattered across the family room of the Cranston household. Billy and Trini were asleep with their heads in Kim's lap, Zack sprawled across the loveseat, and Jason sitting in the recliner, his eyes glued to Kim's understandingly.

The mournful hustle and bustle of the funeral reception seemed appropriate for their situation. Their parents had left them the living room to themselves, to sleep and mourn peacefully. The death of a loved one is something they knew their children were struggling to cope with, especially Billy. But they had each other, and so long as the bond was strong, they would survive.

Kim broke her gentle stare from Jason and turned her gaze back to the window pane, where it was still drizzling softly. Jason held back a sigh when she turned away. There were things going on in her head he didn't understand. He knew he wasn't meant to; he was meant to do other things. But sometimes, and he couldn't explain why, he felt the strong urge to look after her. Like she needed it, even if she couldn't admit it or know it. She was the smallest of their group, but so often he felt she was the strongest.

He was right though. Heavy thoughts burdened Kim's small shoulders. She felt alone. She'd do anything and everything in the world to put the sun back in Billy's sky, but she couldn't. This was something she couldn't fix, she knew. This was something he needed to learn to cope with. But she understood. She knew what it was like to have no mother.

Unlike Billy's mom, Kim's mother was not dead. But she may as well have been. Long gone were the days of kisses and hugs in her own household. Kim's family was rich. But money was something Kim would've traded for just one look from her own her mother that Billy or Jason's mom gave them.

As for her father, well, he was another story.

She had long ago accepted that her home life was not the same as her friends'. She'd long known that she was neither as pretty as Trini, smart as Billy, nor as successful as Jason or Zack. She was the runt of their group. And for it, unbeknownst to her, she'd grown stronger in ways children are not meant to. She was built to endure the very heartaches she was determined to protect her friends from.

Because she loved her friends so dearly, she would do anything for them.

Even die.


	2. Caution

Ms. Nielsen was proud of her small fourth grade class at Hillside Elementary. There were only twenty students in her class; this school had a smaller average number of students than the neighboring schools. Nonetheless, Ms. Nielsen felt there was something very peculiar about these children, more specifically, five of the children.

She felt an odd sensation about this little group right from the first day of classes in late August of the previous year. Now it was May, and as much as it dampened her heart, she would soon proudly graduate them on to the fifth grade. It'd been a long school year for these five, very much so, she realized as she recalled the year's past events. Zack had passed an audition to join a youth dancing group, Kim had placed in a statewide girls' gymnastics competition along with a fellow classmate Sarah Keets, Jason had earned himself a brown belt in karate, Trini had won the district spelling bee and was soon on her way to regionals, and Billy, despite the tragic death of his mother, had come out of his shell and won a local science fair.

It was true; she'd never had such successful students. And although she wished she could say she'd played a larger part in their success, she couldn't. They were not normal children. They possessed the composure and patience that were missing in some of today's finest adults. And she couldn't explain why, or even how.

Meanwhile, across the room two of her top students worked diligently on their shared diorama of the planets. A blonde bespectacled mophead stood at least six inches taller than his small brunette female companion, both of whom were speaking animatedly towards one another. A box of scattered various ping pong balls, gobstoppers, and bouncy balls sprawled mercilessly across their desks next to a large shoe box. As Billy tried to untangle his fingers in a mess of string and glues, Kimberly had taken to testing the bounciness of their bouncy balls.

"I like this big orangey-red one," she declared amidst a giggle. "It should be Mars, you think?"

"Yeah," Billy agreed heartily as he glanced up from his mess. He placed his string and glue aside momentarily to dig through the box of small balls. He stopped, deep in thought and brought a hand to his chin, a sure sign Kim had once deemed of his brain in the works. "Well, um-" he started before he cut himself off.

"What?" Kim asked, now testing a tiny purple bouncy ball along the side of her desk. It bounced at an angle and escaped her fingers. She scrambled to catch it.

"Nevermind," Billy replied timidly, and he set back to work on his tangled string. Kim glanced up at him suspiciously as she regained control of the purple ball.

"What?" Kim asked again, this time setting aside her ball and glaring mischievously into his face as though daring him to say 'nothing'.

"Well," he blushed furiously. "I was thinking… maybe we can make little moons to go with some of the planets?" He didn't dare meet her gaze for fear of what she may think of his ideas. "Or if it's a crummy idea, we don't have to…"

Kim paused, comprehending his fear of being rejected. But she was always prepared for this, and knew exactly how to respond. "That's an excellent idea!" she exclaimed with a wide grin. She immediately began to rummage through their box of spheres for potential moons. "Maybe we can ask Ms. Nielsen if she has smaller spheres to lend us."

Billy blushed even harder and met her gaze with a sheepish smile. "You really think so? That it's a good idea?"

Without discontinuing her search, she turned to him and said very seriously, "You have terrific ideas, Billy. I don't know why you don't share them. You really should."

Billy grinned and immediately began to ramble about how to make the moons stick to their planets. And much to his delight, Kim listened to every word with great interest.

* * *

It wasn't until lunch that they received a break from their science projects. Naturally, the two partners gravitated towards Jason, Trini, and Zack. Billy sat down next to Trini, but Kim did not repeat the gesture. Instead, she and Zack proceeded together to the lunch line for a school-prepared meal.

Jason had only joined them for the lunch line when his mother was too busy or had forgotten to pack him a lunch. He honestly didn't mind; he rather liked the way his mom prepared his sandwiches especially for him. Sometimes, she'd give him extra fruit snacks as a surprise. He knew Trini's mom had never missed the opportunity to make her lunch; Trini's mom was, as his own mother had once adoringly called her, a soccer mom. After Billy's mom died, he and his father spent mornings preparing each other's lunches and enjoying each other's company, which was a task Jason greatly admired. Zack's mom was a nurse working the night shift, and she always arrived home a little before Zack left for school. So she rarely had time to fix him a lunch.

However, Kim's mother was a different story. She never made Kim's lunch for her. He doubted that her mother even made dinner for Kim either. Jason wasn't exactly sure what he thought of Kim's mom just yet. She was certainly an intimidating woman; she always carried a beeper and was constantly on the phone with people who Kim had once declared "very important people" and that they should never bother her when she was speaking with them. On the few occasions they ended up playing at Kim's house, they had to stay extra quiet while her mother was in the room. Jason wasn't sure about this idea of pretending not to exist when Kim's mom was around. He rather liked his own mom and her leniency towards actually having fun. But for fear of offending Kimberly, he never said anything. In any case, he knew in his heart he shouldn't hold contempt for people. His parents, however, were sometimes more than a little displeased with Kim's mom. And although they were never open about it in front of him, he knew what they thought of her.

Her parents divorced when they were in first grade. Jason could vaguely remember her father; he was an often angry man. And Kim never spoke of him after the split. Come to think of it, Jason realized he'd rarely heard Kim talk about her mother either, besides the occasional imploring pleas of staying quiet while at her house.

Jason gathered up his wonderful peanut butter and jelly sandwich and took a grateful chomp out of it. He reminded himself silently to thank his mom again for lunch later today, as he thought sympathetically towards Kim. Billy and Trini were giggling about something concerning moons, dioramas, and a bucket of crazy glue. Jason was too busy enjoying his lunch to pay enough attention to their conversation anyway. He glanced up as Zack and Kim took their places on either side of him. Here was another thing he enjoyed about having a home made lunch: he never had to wait to start eating.

"So," Zack started after forcing down a bite of pizza he apparently took while walking back to the lunch table. "What's going on tomorrow after karate?"

"Well, it's Friday," Trini said thoughtfully between bites of her ranch-dipped carrot. "We should do something fun."

"Yeah!" Billy agreed. "We should have another adventure." Naturally, he looked to Jason for approval.

Jason smiled at the idea. "My mom says we can bike over to my house afterwards." He paused to take a sip of juice. "She said she'd make snacks for us if we wanted."

"I'm in," Kim stated gleefully as she poked the crust of her pizza with a plastic fork. "Your mom makes great snacks."

Jason felt a pang of guilt as he was reminded once again of Kim's mother's inability to make food for her. He had a strange feeling that wasn't all the mysteriously busy woman didn't do either. His smile faltered as he glanced down at Kim.

She narrowed her eyes at his strange behavior, which seemed to occur overlooked by their other companions. Comprehension registered in her eyes as he crumbled beneath her glare. She glanced away and stated very convincingly to the group, "My mom's not bad at making snacks either. She's making spaghetti and meatballs tonight."

Jason poked his Flinstones fruit snacks bag embarrassedly, knowing that she knew full well he'd been feeling sorry for her. His four friends continued their conversation as he took a long sip of juice sheepishly. He didn't understand why she made him feel embarrassed about worrying about her all the time. But he did understand why she'd just lied, and he knew she'd forgive him in return for not betraying her secrets.

As part of his daily routine, Jason pulled open his fruit snacks bag and gave Kim a blue one, though today almost as though it were an offering of peace. She smiled reassuringly at him as she took it. She was not mad at him; she never was. Then again, nor was he.

"We should take the park trail on the way to your house, Jason," Zack suggested, now with a mouthful of pineapple.

"Huh?" Jason blinked. He hadn't really been paying attention in the last few minutes. However, he was able to recover from his lapse of attention and nodded in recognition. "Yeah, that's a good idea. We'll take the small wood trail on our bikes. Remember to let our parents know, 'kay?"

"Right," Billy agreed. The rest of them nodded. They finished the rest of their lunch enjoying each other's company and anxiously awaiting recess, which was waiting loyally for them after lunch.

* * *

Later that evening, Kim parked her bike next to the shoe closet near the back door. It was thirty minutes past six o'clock, and from the looks of the patches of golden sunlight on the ceramic floor, the sun was going to be gone in an hour or two. She kicked off her green sneakers and placed them neatly inside the shoe closet. Unable to reach the coat hangers placed unceremoniously high above her head, she folded her pink hoodie and hugged it to herself resorting to place it safely in her room later. As she grabbed her gymnastics backpack, she realized the house was eerily quiet.

"Mom?" she called out carefully. Her voice seemed to echo down the hallway. No reply came. She shrugged and passed the vast, unnervingly neat kitchen, up the staircase adorned with expensive statues and little monuments of "important things" that should never be touched. Once upstairs, she trudged down the hallway in her socks on the soft carpet towards her room and shut the door behind her.

She placed her bag down next to her desk and turned on the desk lamp. She pulled out tonight's math homework and glanced over the list of problems to do. She smiled. She could do this homework no problem; Billy had helped her earlier today. She drummed her pencil lightly against the desk as she approached the first problem. She worked diligently for fifteen minutes before her mind began to drift away from her schoolwork. She got up and plopped onto her bed, sighing wistfully as she shut her eyes and tried to escape the confines of her room mentally.

Her room was not small. It was actually bigger than Jason and Billy's rooms combined. She didn't like it though. It was _too_ big actually. She figured it felt that way since she was so small. Boy, did she hate being small. Apparently, she wasn't the only one who thought being so small was lame. Sarah Keets, her classmate who went to a state competition with her, loved to rub it in. Sarah was coach's pet, Kim thought bitterly. She didn't blame Coach Welder really. Coach was really nice, but Sarah had an air of manipulation about her that Kim disliked greatly. Then again, Sarah was tall and pretty, and Kim was – well, she was just little Kim. Granted, she'd placed second her in her division beating out Sarah who'd received twelfth place. However, as Sarah so graciously reminded her, winning second couldn't make Kim's mom show up to watch her. In fact, talking to Sarah was like talking to the undertaker. Her heart sank even lower today during practice when Sarah cornered her, gloatingly stating the reasons why Kim shouldn't be on the team.

But in her heart, no matter how much Sarah Keets reminded her why she couldn't have the things other kids had, she knew she could never willingly quit gymnastics. There was something about gymnastics that drew her to it. When she focused on her routines, it was almost as though she were a whole new person. A confident, graceful Kimberly took hold of her body when she performed. This was the Kimberly that she liked, the one who had control of her own happiness and of her own _life_. This was something she would never give up.

She opened her eyes after a trail of thoughts, wondering where her mother was. "Home alone again," she mumbled miserably as her stomach rumbled. She'd had a good workout on the beam today, and she was anxious for some dinner. She got up and crept her way downstairs to the kitchen to grab some leftovers.

"Brilliant," she stated happily as she found her mother's Chinese food leftovers. She placed some egg drop soup inside a bowl and put it gently in the microwave. Normally, she didn't mind being home alone. Admittedly, she grew lonely once in a while. But for the most part, she liked having the house to herself without worrying about making too much noise. She'd go and watch some television while eating the soup, she decided. After forty-five seconds of monotone humming from the microwave, she took her dinner with her and sat in the living room, turning Nickelodeon on.

Tonight, she'd actually wanted her mother home to ask permission to go to Jason's house tomorrow. But it didn't matter. Her mom was rarely home on Fridays and wouldn't notice her absence even if she did stay in. Kim simply couldn't wait for the bike ride to Jason's house. She loved biking through the small wooded areas of the park.

Today had been a rough day, between being scolded by her mom and her encounter with Sarah, the only truly enjoyable time she'd had was the science project with Billy and lunch. So naturally, she felt that she, of all her friends, was looking forward to tomorrow the most. And although something in the pit of her stomach told her to be cautious, Kim ignored it and decided quite happily that tomorrow would be one of the greatest adventures of her childhood. But not once throughout dinner did she acknowledge the nagging feeling inside her that told her it might be her last.


	3. Danger

Disclaimer: Not mine.

It was a beautiful late spring evening that Friday in southern California. The sky was crystal clear, the temperature wasn't too high nor was it too low. The soft wind allowed the ocean's refreshing mist to be detected miles into the coast. The sun was due to kiss the horizon in only an hour or so, and Zack Taylor was determined not miss it. He slipped his shoes on as he stared out the window of the dojo wonderingly, nearly deaf to the the chatter of two of his friends. Today was perfect day for the bike ride he and his friends had planned for. He reluctantly forced his attention away from his own private thoughts, and tuned into the conversation.

"And when you enter the cave," Billy explained enthusiastically to his friends as he fumbled with his own sneakers, "you have to go off to the left section and defeat the bat army _before_ you can open the center chest in the main hall."

"Oh!" Jason exclaimed excitedly. "I thought maybe you had to open the other chests in the main hall in a certain order to get to the big center one."

"Nope," Billy reasoned. "I thought so too. I looked it up in a game manual."

"Big Bad Bug Heroes?" Zack interjected, referring to the new video game Billy and Jason had both gotten recently. He finished tying his shoe laces and stood up, grabbing his bag.

"Yeah," Jason replied as he finished tying his own shoes. "You should get it!"

"Maybe for my birthday my mom will get me one," Zack said with a smile. He took another glance out the window and looked at his watch. He really didn't want to miss the sunset. "Where are the girls?"

"Probably still getting changed," Billy responded with a shrug. The girls always liked to change out of their martial arts gear after class. "You know how Kim is."

Jason nodded. He knew Kim liked to keep her gi clean, much like she kept her gymnastics leotards spotless and folded neatly. It was one of the many "Kim rituals" they lovingly put up with. Jason on the other hand, had a tendency to stuff his uniforms into his bag carelessly so they got wrinkley the next time he pulled them out again. Granted, he would've liked having a nice looking gi all the time, but he reasoned to himself that the effort of folding and neatness was an unnecessary amount of labor for a ten-year-old. Kim, on the other hand, did not agree.

Kimberly and Trini emerged from the dressing room and bowed towards the mats respectfully before they followed the boys outside. They unchained their bikes from the bike rack in front of the dojo.

"Okay," said Trini. "We're taking the path in the woods through the park right? Because that's what I told my mom we were taking."

"Yeah, me too," Zack said.

"Yep," Jason clarified, hopping onto his bike. "That's the right way, and the other side of the path is the closest to my house. Remember my mom said she'd have snacks ready for us when we get back!"

"Mmm," Kim smiled, swaying in place at the thought of Mrs. Scott's sweets. "I love your mom's cookies."

"I think she said she'd make snicker doodles," Jason said appreciatively.

"Okay," Zack said. "Let's go before the sun sets! I can't see it from inside the woods. We gotta see it at Jase's."

"Zack, you're such a romantic," Trini teased as she and Kim giggled.

Zack, however, was not easily embarrassed. It was a widely known fact in the fourth grade that he had a puppy crush on a beautiful little girl in class named Angela. He smiled smugly, secretly hoping that Trini and Kim wouldn't be too shy about letting Angela know of his romantic tendencies.

They took off through towards the park down the block, and rode through it racing and laughing at each other's bad jokes. As they approached the woods, however, Kimberly slowed down and trailed behind the others until she came to a halt. She perched still on her bike just before the entrance to the wooded path and gazed curiously inside. She felt something inside her try to pull her back, away from the woods. She had never felt this way before. She wasn't sure what to do about it.

She'd ridden through these wooded paths by the park for as long as she could remember. Not one tree or twig looked out of place or unordinary from what she could recall in her past experiences riding here. And yet, something in her gut had stopped her. In the pit of her stomach, she began to feel nervous. The woods were eerily quiet. A feeling as though she were being watched began to burn intently. She stole a glance behind her at the park, where several young children and their mothers were getting ready to depart. Everything behind her felt normal. And yet, there was something… something in these woods that didn't seem right.

She saw Jason slow to a stop ahead of her when he looked back to see that she had had halted. "Are you coming?" he called over the heads of their friends. They all turned to look back at her.

Kim drew a deep breath and looked into their happy faces. She was with her friends; everything, _everything_, about life was always better when she was with them. Everything would be okay. This is the same path she took all the time to get to Jason's from the dojo. She couldn't fathom any possible reason why anything should be different today. It was only a mile-long path, and they were on bikes. They'd get through it quickly enough. There was nothing to worry about, she assured herself silently. "Yes," she called back, doing her best to will her sudden insecurity away. "I – I'm coming!"

After stealing one last glance back at the safety of the park, she pedaled bravely onto the path. Once she had caught up with them, they continued on their way. Kim trailed behind them a bit, still glancing around. Besides the bright chatter filling the silence from her friends, she could hear nothing else. It was as if they were biking within a bubble, and no sound could be heard from outside of it. She tried to focus on another sound besides her friends, and she found none. A feeling of dread began to overwhelm her. She was surprised to find her hands had turned white from gripping her handle bars so tightly.

They had continued along for a quarter mile when Kim began to notice the path was beginning to thin. And then she heard it.

At first it was subtle, a very soft creaking in the distance, as though the trees of the forest were contorting themselves. The eerie sound made a distinct crescendo, growing a little louder. Kim's stomach churned. Something wasn't right. In the distance, she caught sight of a flock of birds bursting from the trees. They were fleeing from something. She pedaled faster to catch up with the group; none of whom seemed to notice the strange sound.

Up ahead, Jason became quiet very suddenly. He stopped his bike, and the others followed suit, finally taking in their surroundings.

"This isn't right," Jason said plainly while looking around. "The path looks… different."

He shot a look at his friends to see if they agreed. He noted Kimberly was staring off into the distance. He followed her gaze until he noted the fleeing birds. He glanced back at Kim. It had only then registered to him that she hadn't said a word so far on their trip. She looked ghastly pale. Something was scaring her. The sullen look on her white face was enough to make him worried.

"Kim?" he called softly to her. "What's wrong?"

She didn't answer right away. She looked back at him, her dark eyes reflecting a shadow of clairvoyance unnatural to a child's face. It was a look Jason had long learned to trust from her. It meant danger. "You're right," she managed finally. "This isn't right."

"Guys?" Billy interrupted nervously, still perched on his bike. "The path behind us has disappeared." Trini let out an audible gasp as Zack and Jason turned to verify Billy's observation.

"It's getting kind of foggy," Trini remarked quietly. Indeed, the forest was developing an eerie mist low to the ground. It began to get thicker quickly, and soon enough the children couldn't see their feet any longer. "I'm scared," Trini added in a tiny voice as she looked up.

Zack looked up as well. The clear California sky had vanished into a dark and cloudy mass. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "It was clear earlier!" he exclaimed. "The forecast mentioned nothing about fog or cloudy skies. I checked!"

Jason felt his heart rate increase rapidly, and his stomach twisted into a sudden knot. He looked back to Kim. She still hadn't moved, her motionless eyes still fixed on Jason. She had been trying to convey her message to him. _Something is wrong here_, her eyes told him. _ Don't let the others panic_. Jason didn't know where the sudden understanding came from, but he knew she was right. He nodded.

"Come on," he directed loudly and suddenly to the group, trying to sound as brave as possible. "Let's just keep going. We'll be at my house in no time."

The farther along they travelled, the more dense the trees became. The foggy earth had thickened so badly that it was hard to guess the terrain while the biked. Several times, their bikes would hit hard bumps. In their agitated state, no one had spoken. With every glance back, Kim noticed that the trees had seemed to shift, covering their tracks so that there was no way to retrace their steps. She found her insides trembling at the thought of no way out. Zack, afraid she would disappear behind him, had forced Kim to bicycle ahead of her so that he could keep an eye on where everyone was. The most remarkable change in their predicament was how cold it suddenly became. The woods eventually became so dense and the fog too thick along the ground that they couldn't maneuver their bikes any longer. They stopped reluctantly.

"How far do you think we've gone since we stopped last?" Jason asked, panting.

"I'd say about three-quarters of a mile," Billy guessed, adjusting his glasses and hopping off his bike. "I can't really be sure."

Trini let out a small whimper. "We're lost, aren't we?" Kim glanced at Jason and hopped off her bike as well and took Trini's hand to comfort her.

"We'll find our way out," Jason replied firmly, taking note of Kim's meaningful look. They had to keep moving. "There's no way we can bike any longer. The trees and bushes are getting too thick. We'll have to go on foot from here."

"My dad is going to kill me," Zack groaned. "I just got this bike for Christmas."

"Don't worry, Zack," Jason said reassuringly. "We'll find the bikes again later on. But right now we gotta keep moving."

He led the way on foot, not really sure where he was going. Billy followed right behind him loyally, followed by Kim and Trini holding hands. Zack took the rear, as he was the tallest and could make sure no one strayed. It felt as though the fog's growth had plateaued to a steady thick blanket upon the ground. Jason took that as a good sign. He only prayed he was leading his friends the right way. They soon began to grow weary. Behind him, he could hear Billy stumble every few feet. They were all panting heavily from the dangerous hike. He severely hoped no one would get hurt. After a good long while, he asked while still hiking, "How long since we started the trail?"

Billy glanced at his watch. "It's been an hour and fifteen minutes."

"That's a lot longer than it's feels," Jason remarked. "Our parents will be looking for us by now. It doesn't take long at all to get to my house from the dojo. I bet they're worried."

Kim suddenly felt a pang of guilt. She had only just remembered that she had come along on this trip without permission. Then again, her mother hadn't returned the night before and she was still gone when Kim woke up this morning. It wasn't as though she had an opportunity to ask. Kim wouldn't have been surprised if her mother had taken another business trip without informing her. In any case, if they were lucky, she could be home before her mother noticed she was missing. After all, she had gotten away with it on more than one occasion.

Zack sighed from the rear. "The sun should've set by now," he wondered. "But it hasn't gotten darker at all. Just foggier."

"I don't think we're where we're supposed to be," Trini spoke up as she stepped over something solid along the ground. "I mean, I don't think we're in Angel Grove anymore."

Kim had hoped they wouldn't have come to that conclusion. She'd been suspecting the same thing. She somehow felt very far from home. Far from the dojo. Far from Jason's house. Far from snicker doodles. She wasn't sure how to get back or how long it would be before they could, if at all, return home. She just knew that no matter what direction they went in, there was a slim chance they would find themselves on the right track. She resolved not to reflect her opinion to the others. She could feel Trini's hand squeeze hers tighter in fear. She gave Trini a smile for reassurance that seemed to calm her a bit.

"Then where are we?" Zack asked, taking in their surroundings.

Billy grunted as he hopped over what felt like a large pile of stones. "Definitely not California," he reasoned. "The trees here aren't native to California. I'd say somewhere in North America for sure, but not anywhere near Angel Grove. I just don't understand how we got so far!" He proceeded to examine a tree he knew was not native to his home.

Jason stopped a moment to let his friends rest. He kept feeling Kim's pressure to keep moving, but he could see that she needed a break as well. She whispered something soft to Trini, as though to comfort her. Jason knew the others couldn't see it, but he could tell that Kim was on edge. If anything made her nervous like that, he knew it couldn't be good. He'd known her long enough to be able to tell when she was agitated. This was the worst he'd seen her. It was the way she obsessively tucked the loose strands of her pony tail behind her ears. Or the way she pursed her mouth tightly shut when she wasn't speaking as though determined not to let out a terrible secret. It was also the way she stood still, when normally she was relaxed she would sway back and forth in place in a playful manner. He felt as if she had somehow transformed into something or someone else. He could see in her eyes that she felt deeply unnerved. That, in turn, made him grow even more fearful. He would not, however, according to Kim's silent message allow his fears to surface in front of the others. He knew she was out to protect them, and she needed him to lead them all to safety. He only hoped this was a task he wouldn't fail.

All at once, the atmosphere around them seemed to change. The sky was as dreary as it was before, and so was the misty blanket of fog upon the earth. But the air itself felt suddenly quite thick, and quite _cold_. There was a soft rustle in the trees not far from them. Instinctively, Zack had stepped forward, putting himself between his friends and the source of the mysterious sound.

All heads turned in that direction, and none of them dared to move. Kim felt Trini's grip tighten and heard Billy's breath become shallow. Without taking her eyes off of the spot where the rustling came from, she reached out her other hand and tugged Billy by his elbow closer to her. He complied subconsciously. Kim felt danger. She couldn't understand how she knew that something was grossly hideous was creeping along the wood before them, but she knew it was something that resembled a monster. _Something that would kill them if they didn't leave soon_. She forced her bursting fear out of sight, determined not to scare the others. But she knew they had to act soon or they would face their doom. She looked to Jason and willed his attention to her.

Jason could feel her calling to him silently. He looked back at her, and quite suddenly he knew what she knew. He nodded.

Zack squinted his eyes and tried to concentrate on the sound. It started to sound like a slither. Something was definitely moving there. There was a great rumble, and only then did Zack turn to look at Jason.

Jason held back a gulp and directed quietly to their group, "Let's go this way." He gestured towards the opposite direction of the creature and led them in a quick pace away. They followed him loyally in a single line.

Zack once again forced Kim ahead of him and took the rear. He could hear the creature behind him, slithering along at the same pace. It was following them, Zack realized, and it was having absolutely no problem keeping up. In fact, Zack thought nervously, it was starting to gain on them. Kim had tripped slightly in front of him. He helped her up by the arm and gave her a small push to will her to go faster.

Trini had never felt the overwhelming sensation of fleeing for her life. She wanted to go faster, but she couldn't find the strength in her worn legs to move quickly. She could feel her own body shaking, and she didn't like this. This was the first time in her life that she had felt so scared. She could hear Billy behind her panting. Jason was just in front of her, and he showed nothing but the determined demeanor of escape.

"I think we have to go faster," Billy called to Jason. Billy had caught a glimpse of a shadow traveling alongside them in the distance.

Jason didn't want to go too fast, however, in case anyone had trouble keeping up. But he sensed the urgency in Billy's voice and complied. He broke into a soft jog, risking a quick glance behind his shoulders to make sure no one was left behind. Trini was surprised to able to keep up with his stride.

"Jase!" Zack shouted. "There's more than one!"

At the sound of his voice, Jason broke into a sprint, praying that he wouldn't trip on something hidden beneath the fog. He could hear the creatures nearby, but he didn't dare chance a look for fear of what he might find. As long as he could hear the others behind him, he would keep running. In the distance he saw a light. He didn't know whether there was something there that was good or bad, but he took the chance. The lit patch of wood was drawing nearer as he pushed himself forward. He could hear the girls' whimpers behind him, and that only motivated him to move faster.

Finally, they were only twenty feet from it. He heard one of the girls, he wasn't sure which, let out a yelp. Fifteen feet. He could see there was a clearing within the lit patch. Ten feet. "Faster!" he heard Zack yell. Five feet. Almost there. Two feet. He took a great leap into the clearing and stumbled to a halt.

He felt Trini run into his back, sending him forward onto his knees. He felt the others pile up behind him he turned to look at them. They were tangled in each other, panting. There was no sign of the creatures that had chased been chasing him. His friends looked tired, but unhurt. Billy was trying to adjust his glasses, and Zack had managed to get onto his feet and was helping him up. Trini face was stricken with utter relief at their momentary safety. They all looked tired and relieved.

And then he saw Kim… who sat still on the ground, her mouth parted slightly and staring at something behind Jason.

Jason turned to follow her gaze. He was unable to suppress an audible gasp.


	4. Task

Author's note: This chapter is dedicated to my buddy Nino. Sorry it took so long to upload. I had a lot of trouble writing this chapter for some reason. Hopefully it comes across clearly.

* * *

Jason's body went rigid and alert. He felt Kim clamor behind him and clutch his arm in fear. He didn't know where his sudden burst of confidence came from, whether it was due to years of martial arts training or something he was born with, but he was surprised to find himself rising to his feet defensively towards the new creatures that stood before them.

There were three of them. They looked almost human, but Jason could tell that they weren't. They had long, slender bodies, extending to an above-average human height. They had pale, almost paper white, skin. Their pupils were completely navy blue, and the whites of their eyes were emitting an eerie glow. Their white, sleeved dresses lay full-length and draped on the ground at their feet. Something about the way they stood was very feminine. Long, wispy and silvery hair flowed down to their waists, seemingly being blown by a strangely absent wind. They stood almost ghost-like in the middle of the clearing in a straight line, their unnerving eyes staring unblinkingly and expectantly at the children who stood scattered before them.

Jason broke the silence between the two groups and said in his bravest voice, "Who are you?"

The one standing in the middle cocked her head slightly at the boy before her and spoke through thin lips, "You have come across this sacred land." Her voice was light and feminine and seemed to echo as she spoke. There was a long pause.

"We're sorry," Trini piped up nervously from behind Jason, "We – we got lost…"

"It does not matter how you came to be here," the white lady interrupted gently. "What matters now is how you leave. There is only one price you must pay in order to return to where you came from. It is the law of this land."

Zack's brain fumbled as he thought of how much money they would have to pay. They were only kids. The most they probably had among them was twenty dollars, if they were lucky. He wondered silently whether they would make them do labor to pay their way out. "We don't have much money," Zack murmured quietly, looking around at his friends.

Kim, on the other hand, comprehended that the meaning of "price" had nothing to do with monetary value. She froze, temporarily paralyzed by terror. Jason had felt her tremor behind him. He knew whatever they had to do to get back home was something very difficult.

"What do we have to pay?" Jason asked.

"It is not something you must _all_ pay," the white lady explained patiently. "The price is a task. If done correctly, we require only one. That is our price. That is the law."

Kim's breath began to come out in short gasps. _Only one…_

Jason's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "The law?"

When the white ladies didn't answer he continued, "A Task? What do you want _one_ of us to do?"

"If it is done correctly, only four of you may return home once the task is complete," one of the other white ladies replied vaguely. She sounded almost exactly the same as the first.

Kim's heartbeat fluttered faster in anticipation of the task. _Only four may return…_

"No way!" Zach exclaimed furiously. He turned to Jason for affirmation. "There's no way we're leaving anyone behind!"

Jason nodded in agreement. He looked up at the white ladies and said firmly, "He's right. We're not leaving anyone behind. We go home together."

"You misunderstand us," replied the third white lady. "We do not require anyone to remain behind."

"But then –," Trini began again confused.

"In order for you to return home," the first white lady interrupted again, "_one of you must die_."

And there it was. The truth exposed itself upon Kimberly like a hammer. As menacingly her heart was beating a moment ago, she felt as though it had stopped. The words echoed across her thoughts blaringly… _One of you must die_. Only four of them could return home at best.

Jason stood disbelieving for a moment as though he hadn't heard them correctly. "No," he shook his head angrily. "No, that's not possible. No one is going to die." He looked back at his friends and saw the fear etched across their faces. His eyes rested on Kim who had paled sickeningly. He repeated to them, to her, "_No one is going to die!_"

"It is the law," the second white lady repeated loudly over Jason. "There is no way around this sacred land. It cannot be changed."

"I don't care about the law!" Jason screamed furiously at the white ladies. "We're not letting anyone die for you!"

"This is our price. This is the law," she repeated in an emotionless tone, seemingly unaware of Jason's outburst.

"No, it's not the law!" Billy exclaimed suddenly. "That's completely unconstitutional!"

"You are not where you believe you are," the third white lady explained.

"We're somewhere in North America," Billy replied hesitantly, as he nervously adjusted his glasses and took a second sure glance at the trees around him. The misty fog of the forest began to fill the clearing where they all stood. "There is no law requiring death to leave in any territory that I've heard of."

"You are not where you believe you are," the first white lady mimicked the second. Her eyes rested mournfully upon the children. "This is our land. It is sacred. This land has the ability to mimic an occupant's origin planet."

"Planet?" Trini repeated with a raised eyebrow. As scared as he was at first, she started to think this was all a terrible joke. She looked to Billy instinctively; if he believed anything to be true then she would too. "Billy?" she nudged him. But Billy's face was frozen in confusion and disbelief. He was squinting through his glasses, determined to find sure evidence of their exact location. "Billy?" she pleaded him to confirm that this was all a lie.

"There's no way," Zack laughed manically, and seemed to ponder the idea that this was a horrific joke as well. "There's just no way. Jase, this has got to be a joke. We're just kids!"

"I –," Billy interrupted his friend softly, taking another hard look around. The sky had gotten dark during their flight from the creatures. Nightfall had finally come. He glanced upward, just noticing a small clearing in the sky. His mouth fell open, seeing for the first time an eerie constellation of stars he could not recognize. What startled him more was the fact that he could see _two_ moons. The truth sunk into his heart, and suddenly he wasn't sure of anything. "I don't think it's a joke." He pointed up, and heard Trini whimper.

Zack's smile disappeared from his face, replaced by shock. He caught his breath as he tried to come up with an argument, but his trust in Billy's wisdom vastly outweighed his denial. His mouth opened and closed in attempts to fight for the truth. But he could see it plainly on Billy's face.

The defeated looks on his friends' dumbfounded faces was too much for Jason to take.

"What's wrong with you guys?" Jason asked his friends defiantly. "We're not on another planet, and we're not going to obey some stupid made-up law! We're lost, that's all it is! We'll be home soon to have some snacks! We'll ask my mom if you guys can sleep over, and we'll play video games and watch movies all night!" They stared back at him silently and unbelievingly. When no one answered him, he blew up at them. "No one is going to die!" he finished angrily.

"Jason…" Kim spoke up for the first time, expressing to him with dark doe eyes the seriousness of their situation. He recognized the knowing look of clairvoyance in her eyes. But he refused to acknowledge it.

"No!" he'd yelled at her for the first time in their young lives, scaring her slightly. "We're leaving!" With one long rebellious look at the three white ladies that stood at the center of the clearing, he moved determinedly away from them. "Come on!" he demanded to his friends. He took Billy by the arm, distracting him from the mysterious constellations above, and pulled him gently. Billy took the hint and marched after Jason out of the clearing.

"Right behind you," Zack said as he ushered Trini in front of him obediently.

Kim, however, stood rooted in the spot. For the first time in her young life, she had chosen not to listen to Jason. She was conflicted between her sudden disobedience towards her best friend and the impending doom that lay ahead of them. There was nothing more she wanted than to run after Jason, to follow his defiant lead and prove him right. At this moment she would've given anything to be munching on Mrs. Scott's snacks and laughing with her friends into the night… well, anything short of giving up a life. Her gut told her that Jason's stubbornness, although admirable, would lead them down a drawn-out and painful path. As noble as his intentions were, no matter how hard any of them would fight to believe Jason, she knew what had to be done. She wouldn't let any of them perish; she was suddenly quite determined not to let her friends suffer a fate they didn't deserve.

Kim noticed that the fog had stopped moving. It looked like a solid blanket upon the ground. She had a feeling that time had stopped everywhere else, and that somewhere in the woods, her friends were motionless, temporarily frozen in time. She wondered why time hadn't stopped for her as well.

Realization dawned upon her. She swayed on the spot wearily at the sudden thought. She was the one with the least to lose by dying. She was the one who had to die. Jason, Trini, Zack, and Billy each had families who would miss them… parents who would suffer dearly from their children's absences. With a painful jolt in her stomach, Kim bitterly doubted very much that her mother had noticed her absence this Friday evening, let alone whether she disappeared forever. Her father hadn't contacted them since after the divorce. They had received one giant lump of money, and he'd left without a goodbye. It was true, she thought soberly. She didn't have a family to miss her. She felt stinging in her eyes from tears threatening to burst. No one would care if she died… Except her friends.

Billy would take it hard after already losing his mother. Kim wasn't sure he could handle another death so close to his mother's. And Trini was the only person among her friends who could really understand what it meant to be a girl. Kim briefly recalled the girlish fantasies and secrets they'd shared with one another at sleepovers. She wondered whether Trini would find someone to replace her. Zack, Kim thought, would shut himself off from the world. He was never really good at expressing his sad or angry feelings. And Jason… Kim knew Jason would blame himself forever… But what other choice did they have? She couldn't fathom a world where any of her friends no longer existed. _The world still needs them_, she thought. She knew that the others couldn't think clearly at the moment with the panic of death upon their shoulders. So this was it. The solution to their problem was right before her. As much as it would pain her friends, it had to be done. Death was something they had only barely begun to understand. She felt guilty at the thought of leaving such a burden upon them, but it was the only way to ensure that they got back home safely.

Ten years old and ready to die. It was a strange feeling. She suddenly felt like her childhood had been too short. Had she laughed enough? Had she smiled enough? Had she cherished every happy thought and feeling? She'd never even received her first kiss. She couldn't think of many instances outside her time with her friends that she had been happy. This felt right though… dying for the right reasons. Was this how it felt to be grown up? Are all grown-ups ready to die too? She recalled when Jason's Nana had passed away. She heard Mrs. Scott mention that Nana Jan had been ready to die not long before she'd passed. Kim wondered whether this was the same type of feeling. Had Billy's mom felt it as well?

Kim reluctantly tore her gaze away from where Jason and the others had disappeared into the woods. She looked back up at the white ladies who still stood in the middle of the clearing. They stared down at her expectantly and curiously. Their eyes bore into her understandingly, and Kim felt as though they had read her thoughts and comprehended her reasons for remaining behind. They remained silent.

"I'll do it," she said in a brave voice that sounded nothing like her own.

The white ladies looked down at her with expressionless faces. "You accept this task?" the lady in the middle asked, interrupting Kim's observations.

Kim nodded firmly. "Yes." The white ladies looked at one another, exchanging what Kim thought seemed like nonverbal communication. Kim couldn't tell what they were thinking. She suddenly felt nervous as they examined her as though she were a specimen.

"It is not as easy as you may think it is," another one explained serenely. "We cannot simply strike you down where you stand, nor can you take your own life."

"But then," Kim asked nervously, "how will I know when I'm going to die? And how will it happen?"

"Part of the task," the first white lady said simply, "is that you cannot know how or when it will happen."

Kim trembled slightly at the thought of pending death, but pushed past her emotions. She had to do this. It was the only way.

"Furthermore," the second lady spoke, "once you accept this task, your friends will remain in danger as long as you remain alive."

The third one continued, "You must realize that once you accept this task, if another child dies first, no one may return home until you die as well."

Kimberly was confused. She thought that by simply volunteering she would ensure her friends' safety. The white ladies seemed to read the confusion written upon her face.

"As the one deemed with the task," the third white lady explained gently, "it is _you_ who must die, even if another dies before you."

"But…" Kimberly tried to understand, "How do I keep my friends from dying if I can't be sure that I die first?"

"You protect them," the second white lady stated simply.

Kim blinked, taking in this heavy piece of information. She nodded in understanding. The fog had unfrozen at her feet suddenly, and was flowing freely across the ground of the forest once again. Time had unfrozen, Kim realized.

"Another law of this land states that your word is your bond," the first white lady said. "This form of verbal contract cannot be undone, and once you agree to this task you can never take it back. Do you understand, child?"

"Yes," Kim nodded. In the distance, she could hear Jason's voice. He was hollering in the distance.

"And you understand that by accepting this task, you become responsible for the outcome of your friends' lives?"

"Yes." She heard Jason's voice more clearly in the distance. He was calling her name. She did her best to ignore his imploring calls for her and focused on the white ladies in front of her.

"And in the event that you should fail, meaning if one or more of your friends die before you, you must continue your task to save the rest? That if you should give up, you will _all_ perish here?"

"I won't give up!" she exclaimed determinedly, balling her fists. Jason's voice was getting louder; he was getting closer.

"Then one last time I must ask you: Do you accept the task that lies before you?"

"I accept," Kim stated firmly.

The white ladies said nothing more, but stood there silently watching her with curious eyes. Kim realized they were starting to fade, becoming transparent and disappearing within the misty fog. Their eyes remained focused upon her, and for the first time Kim detected a hint of emotion flowing from them. Was it sorrow? Sadness? She couldn't tell. They were fading so fast, she was unable to identify their emotions. She wondered whether they were ghosts…

She gasped as her thoughts were interrupted suddenly when she felt someone whip her around on the spot. Kimberly looked up into her best friend Jason's face.

Jason's expression was torn between relief and anger. He was panting. He was about to begin yelling at her for disappearing and scaring him, but then he saw the fearful expression upon her face. Jason didn't like the idea of Kim being afraid of him. He was angry that she didn't follow him, but he decided he couldn't let that cloud his determination to find a way out of the forest. He settled on relief, released his hold on her shoulders, and sighed. He smiled momentarily at her. He was glad that she was okay, and that was enough to get him focused.

"Come on, Kim" Jason pleaded, taking her hand and pulling her gently. "Let's go."

She nodded numbly, letting him pull her by the hand away from the clearing where the white ladies had stood. As he dragged her away, she looked back and saw that the white ladies had disappeared completely within the hazy fog.


End file.
